The Newsroom Challenge

With more than 50 social media accounts in the WVEC newsroom, Director of Digital Content, Neal Bennett knew he had a challenge on his hands when it came to managing accounts, tracking analytics and keeping passwords secure. The staff at WVEC in Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport, VA (DMA 44) now uses SocialNewsDesk to post more than 1,500 times a month and Bennett says SND is a valuable tool. “From a management perspective, I love to use SocialNewsDesk for tracking purposes. It makes it quick and easy to see what folks are doing, especially on Twitter.”

From a management perspective, I love to use SocialNewsDesk for tracking purposes. It makes it quick and easy to see what folks are doing…
– Neal Bennett, WVEC Director of Digital Content

The Contesting Challenge

WVEC knew the plan – to help an airline re-launch its NEW branding to get a ton of attention and get the word out quickly. Essentially, the airline was starting from scratch. WVEC packaged an almost all-digital campaign to energize PeoplExpress’s emergence into the market. The station offered to focus its efforts around a Facebook contest powered by SocialNewsDesk that would help their airline announce its arrival, grows its Facebook audience, increase its likes and generate excitement around the new flights being offered in the area.

Contest Booked

PeoplExpress decided to run a contest on WVEC’s Facebook Page that would give them the ability to give away 20 round trip tickets over a two-week period. The contest was co-sponsored by the airport and the airline (price not disclosed). To promote the contest, the deal included 1 Facebook post per day promoting the contest link, a second post to announce the winner and limited on-air promos to generate interest in the contest. They also included integrated web ads and embedded the contest on WVEC’s website using SocialNewsDesk’s technology.

The Results

The first week of the contest was an incredible success for WVEC’s sponsor, PeoplExpress. The sponsor DOUBLED its Likes on Facebook from 7,800 to 15,000 likes in the first 5 days of the contest. The contest received more approximately 9,890 entries. According to WVEC’s Director of Digital Content, Neal Bennett, “We love the app provided by SocialNewsDesk. The contest platform makes SocialNewsDesk worth it on its own.”